China Recruiting Blog

Getting Arrested in China

this does not have to happen to you

Getting arrested in China is not common, but one should think about the risks.Dan Harris at China Law Blog has a post up on how not to get arrested in China.  Take a look at his fine article here

Avoiding a Big Risk in Getting Arrested in China

Compliance programs are smart like Dan has mentioned, but I would be amiss to say that is enough.

Have you every told a Chinese employee to do whatever it takes to get this done?  I have seen this, and the staff member went and put the whole company at risk by breaking the law to get that thing done.

Chinese people are less clear on avoiding legal trouble though knowledge of the law continues to grow.  If you reward people for no holds barred behavior,  you may be at risk of being fined or closed down or arrested in China.

However, if you want to have a clean organization, then hire people who are trustworthy and clean in their dealings. Now, this is perhaps easier to sense in Topeka than in some city in China, but it is important to get it done either way.

I have often told the story of how I made my mark in China in 1997.  I defied common wisdom. Instead of hiring a guy with deep manufacturing experience to help me start an electronics factory, I chose a school teacher who was honest in his dealings. Gradually, I learned I could consistently find honest people of deep manufacturing experience in China. Putting the two together meant I could open this business and make owners and workers happy by placing the right people in these companies.

I like to say that we help owners in the US sleep better by the people we place. Today, it is likely more apt to say that we help them feel better passing through immigration entering and leaving China.  They can be at peace knowing they will not get arrested in China.

Thoughts?